Waterford Triathlon Club held it’s first triathlon in the beautiful coastal village of Dunmore East on Saturday, July 1st.
The race started with a 750m swim from the main beach in Dunmore East to the smaller beach across the bay (Counsellors Beach). Competitors then had to climb the steep path into transition where they mounted their bikes before setting off on the 20k out and back cycle route towards Waterford City. The road surface on the cycle route was great with a very smooth surface along the entire length of the course…culminating in a steep climb back into the transition area. Competitors then commenced the 7k run. The first 2k of this run provided a ‘testing’ climb for the runners before it meandered along some scenic country roads and back into the village of Dunmore East. The race finished with yet another ‘climb’ to the finish line.
Competitors filtered through registration from early morning and began to set up their bikes in transition. There was people from all corners of Ireland taking part as well as a great bunch of competitors from Pembrokeshire, Wales, who really added to the enjoyment throughout the weekend.
Due to the numbers taking part (250 in total), the race was split into two waves. All males aged 20 - 40 years started in Wave 1 at 12:00 and all other competitors (Females, Juniors, Vets, Relays) started in Wave 2.
First out of a water (in well under 10 mins) was Donal Harte from the Pulse Tri Club but he was closely followed by pre race favorites, Trevor Woods (Cork Tri Club) and Mark Dempsey (Limerick Tri Club). Donal maintained his advantage in the early part of the bike course but was then overtaken by both Trevor and Mark, with Brian Farrell from Belpark Tri Club moving into 3rd position.
Trevor had 2 minutes to spare over his nearest rivals coming back in off the bike course and he was to maintain this advantage all the way through the run and crossed the line in first position in a time of 1hr:08min. Mark Dempsey and Brian Farrell finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.
In the female race, Ellie Jones from the Pembrokeshire Tri Club was first home and she was very closely followed by Ailbhe Healy from Limerick and Mary Daly from the Midland Tri Club.
The Strand Inn was a perfect setting for post race refreshments and prize giving. The ‘craic and ceol’ continued well into the evening. Feedback from all competitors was very good and everybody, competitors and supporters alike, really enjoyed the day out.
A big, big thank you to all who volunteered to help out with the organisation of this event, especially those who volunteered their kayaking and road marshalling services.
Check out www.triathlonireland for full results